


Can't Do This Without You

by fangirlsweruntheworld



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Caring Luke, F/M, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Death, Pre-Canon, Vomiting, past Luke/Alex, sick julie, sick!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27706181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlsweruntheworld/pseuds/fangirlsweruntheworld
Summary: “Yo, Julie, lookin’ a little hot.” Luke said, moving away from Alex and over to where she was now sitting on the couch, her hand clutching her stomach a bit.Her slightly red face got even redder with Luke’s comment. “Flirt much?” She teased.Luke shook his head, his own face growing warm. He could feel Alex’s gaze on the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean it like that. You just look a little warm.”—Julie gets sick one night after rehearsal, Luke falls apart worrying that he's going to lose her, and the boys relive things they never wanted to.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 60
Kudos: 529





	1. Burnin Up

“Guys we totally rocked that!” Luke exclaimed walking over to Julie, holding his hand up to her for a high five. She jumped up, slapping his hand enthusiastically and smiled brightly when he held onto her hand for an extra second longer than he needed to. 

“We’re definitely going to kill it at the gig this weekend!” Alex said, stepping out from behind his drums, fist bumping with Reggie on his way over to where Julie and Luke stood. 

Julie and the Phantoms had a pretty huge gig planned for this upcoming weekend, at a local venue. Sunset Curve had booked the place back in the 90’s and it had changed ownership in the past 25 years, but still frequented many managers and record executives. Ever since their youtube video went viral, and they played the Orpheum, the band was getting a bit of recognition. Rightfully deserved. 

Julie walked over to her bag and pulled out a water bottle, unscrewing the cap and basically finishing the entire thing in one fell swoop. For the past couple of days she had been excessively thirsty, her mouth feeling like sandpaper especially after a couple hours of rehearsing pretty tough vocals. 

But it was nothing she couldn’t handle. 

From across the studio, Luke noticed her complexion getting a little pink. Ever since the situation with Caleb, and the night the boys could actually touch Julie, things changed with their dynamic. He was constantly by her side, small brushes of hands, and a closeness that hadn’t been there before. With this new closeness, he noticed more things about Julie—when a blush would creep across her cheeks when he’d compliment —among other things. 

He could also tell when things were different. Like when she was annoyed, or angry at something, or in this case, looking a bit  _ off. _

“Yo, Julie, lookin’ a little hot.” Luke said, moving away from Alex and over to where she was now sitting on the couch, her hand placed on her stomach. 

Her slightly red face got even redder with Luke’s comment. “Flirt much?” She teased. 

Luke shook his head, his own face growing warm. He could feel Alex’s gaze on the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean it like that. You just look a little warm.” 

“You do look a little pinker than usual. Oh, uhh, not that you look pink usually.” Reggie added, and Alex just shook his head at his friend. 

Suddenly Julie’s hand clenched at her side, and she let out a sharp breath at the feeling. Luke’s eyes grew wide and he rushed over to her instantly, his hands finding her shoulders. “Julie?” He breathed. 

She swatted at his hands and smiled, her eyes meeting his directly. 

“I’m fine. It was just a cramp. I can’t really control when they happen.” She shrugged, her tone was light heartened. After almost dying a second time at the hands of Caleb, Luke couldn’t bear the idea of losing anyone, and that especially included Julie. Nor did he like seeing her in pain, no matter how small.

Alex and Reggie looked at each other, whispering, “Girl stuff.” Julie shot them a look. 

Although it was too early in the month to be getting cramps, she disregarded it when another one didn’t happen again. As for feeling a little warm, it had been an intense practice, and her and Luke had gotten pretty close while singing together at a few points. That never failed to make her face flush a bit. 

Luke nodded and pulled her into a side hug, smashing her face into his chest. 

“Group hug!” Reggie yelled, before trampling over to the two on the couch, Alex closely behind them. 

Julie shouted from the sudden pressure of two more bodies, but broke out into hysterics immediately. That feeling, the one that was pure admiration for her boys, pounded at her chest, and she smiled into where her face was still pressed against Luke. 

As they separated moments later, Carlos burst into the studio. The young boy sauntered in, with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows raised. He eyed the equipment that was still set up from their rehearsal minutes before. 

Although Carlos couldn’t see the boys, he knew they existed and walked up to the couch, pointing his fingers in various directions, missing the exact spots the boys were. 

He stopped and let his ‘protective man of the house’ facade drop away before smiling at his sister. 

“Dad said it’s time for dinner.”

“Okay, I’ll be up in a couple minutes.” Carlos nodded before running out.

Julie pried herself from the squashed spot on the couch, which definitely was tight with four people sitting all together on it. 

“I’ll come back when I’m done with dinner and we can go over the set one more time, yeah?” She said. Her ghost band nodded back to her, smiles on their faces, Reggie holding up a ‘thumbs up’ in her direction. 

Turning her back, and grabbing her bookbag, she made her way out of the studio and heard Luke call behind her. 

“See ya later, Boss!” Her smile only grew. 

—

Julie found herself pushing her dinner around on the plate and not really eating any of it. Her period must have really been starting early, because usually after a long practice she was starving, but for some reason tonight she just felt a little queasy. 

“¿Mija, estás bien ?” Ray asked, noticing his daughter barely had touched anything but a couple potatoes that were on her plate. 

Shaking her head, she smiled across the table at her dad. “I’m okay, not really hungry Papa.” 

“You look a little red. Are you sure you’re not feeling sick?” Julie hadn’t been sick for months. Not since she met the guys. After her mom had died she would sometimes lose her appetite and stay in bed for too long, but that was more because she was sad and missing her mother. 

Tonight she couldn’t chase the feeling of an upset stomach, like it was gnawing at her insides. It could have been something she had eaten in the cafeteria that made her feel a little sick. Flynn had said her sandwich she had bought tasted a little weird. Plus she didn't want any reason to make her dad worry about her and she had to get back to practice with the boys. They would be waiting for her. 

“I’m okay.” She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince her dad that, or herself. Julie rested her elbow on the table and pressed her face against the palm of her hand, which felt surprisingly cool. Either that, or her face had just gotten very hot. 

Julie closed her eyes for what she thought was not even a second, keeping them open was getting a little difficult, when she suddenly felt her dads hands on her back, shaking her gently awake, her head slipping off of it’s place on her hand. 

“Julie, you’re falling asleep at the dinner table, and you’re burning up. What’s going on?” Her dad rubbed comforting circles on her back, and suddenly she felt her stomach clench again, in the same spot it had when it cramped up in the garage. 

Without even thinking about it, her chair skidded back, pushing her dad back, and she ran to the bathroom off of her kitchen, barely making it to the toilet, before the bit of contents in her stomach made its way into the bowl

When she was done retching, she flushed the toilet and pushed her hair dark curls, which were basically plastered to her head, away from her face. She spit up what was left in her mouth and slumped against the toilet. 

“Oh baby…” Her dad appeared behind her and rubbed her back again, like he had at the dinner table. “Let’s get you to bed.” Ray lifted his daughter up gently from her place on the tiled bathroom floor, and put an arm around her waist for support. 

“Carlos!” Ray shouted from beside her, and the young boy appeared in the doorway to the bathroom almost immediately, glancing at his sister who’s eyes were screwed shut, her weight resting against her dad’s frame. “Ayudame. Get Julie a glass of water and the bucket from the closet and bring it up to her bedroom.” Carlos scurried away quickly, carrying out his father’s request. 

“C’mon Mija, lets get you to your bed.” Julie nodded, any energy she once had was now flushed down the toilet with the food she had eaten today. 

Once she was in her room, her dad helped her slip into her bed, and the sheets felt incredibly cold against her heated, sticky skin. Ray brushed his daughters hair out of her face, her curls cascading down against her pillow. Carlos walked behind his dad with the glass of water clutched in one hand and a plastic bucket in the other. 

Carlos looked at Julie then back to his dad, worry set across his small face.

“Julie is going to be fine Carlos. She just ate something bad. Go back downstairs and start helping put some of the dinner away.” Carlos grumbled a little bit because of the tasks he was being assigned. “Ahora mismo, Mijo.” Ray told Julie he would be right back, and would get her some medicine for her stomach, and disappeared into the hallway.  A sudden sharp pain stabbed at her stomach as her dad left the room and Julie clutched her right side, her eyes shooting open, and her body contorting into pain. Nausea flooded her system again and she peeled back her sheets, reaching quickly for the bucket Carlos had put next to her bed. The rest of the food that had been in her system from that day, came back up, and she coughed, her head still in the bucket.

At that moment Luke poofed into the room. 

“Yo you coming back…shit, Julie!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've read a couple sick fics and I had an idea for this, so I thought, hey why not write it. Plus I've been watching a lot of The Good Doctor so....
> 
> This is mostly a Julie/Luke centric fic, but there might be a bit of past/mentioned Alex/Luke. There will be references and possibly flashbacks to the boys dying also.
> 
> Anyways, this is just chapter one, a few more will be coming soon!
> 
> Thanks! Enjoy!
> 
> -T


	2. Hold Me Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Tonight, she had Luke there holding her tightly. She thanked whoever was up there for giving her the gift of him, and giving her the gift of actually being able to touch him now. His strong arms wrapped themselves around her smaller body, and Julie’s head rested against his shoulder, weakly."

“Julie! What’s happening?” Luke raced over to where Julie was hunched over the side of her bed, her head still halfway inside the bucket.

“Dad, I’m…” She lifted her head and instantly felt embarrassed when it wasn’t her dad who was now next to her, but Luke.

“Luke.” She breathed. 

Julie tried to smile, playing it off that she wasn’t actually feeling as sick as she was, but another wave hit and she found her head back inside the bucket, spitting up bile. It was disgusting and she wished Luke wasn’t here seeing her this way. 

“Oh god.” She heard Luke mutter. As she kept coughing into the bucket, she felt her hair being pulled away from her face, Luke holding it in his hands. 

“What’s happening to you? This doesn’t look good.” Seeing Julie like this, totally out of her element, her normal chipper, energetic self, now a little grey and sweaty, hunched over a plastic blue bucket. He couldn’t help but feel devastated. He knew what it felt like to barf like this, he’d been hungover a couple times when he’d been alive, and well...what killed him… 

“Luke, I’m fine.” She gagged a bit, but held the nausea in the best she could. “I just ate something bad at lunch I think.” Her breath was shaky, and he could see her skin was coated with a thick sheen of sweat. 

Luke was about to answer when Ray walked back in, holding a glass of what could only be ginger ale and a couple tylenol in his hands. 

“Mija, can you sit up for me please?” Ray asked, standing in front of his sick daughter. Julie felt incredibly weak, and couldn’t find the strength in her to sit herself up, that was until she felt Luke’s strong hands around her waist, lifting her up so that she could sip on the ginger ale and swallow the pills without choking on them. 

“Julie, sweetheart, I’m going to call your tia, I need you to keep sitting upright, and drink that. I’ll be right back up after I’ve talked to Victoria.” Julie nodded, there was nothing in her to protest the idea of calling her aunt. Honestly, she could probably use her right now. 

Whenever Julie would get sick, her mom would always be the one to take care of her. Not that her dad didn’t want to, but her mom nurtured her in a way only a mother really could do. She would sing her lullabies when she would hold her in her arms, cuddling up between the warm comforter of her bed. They would sit like that for hours, skipping school, the soft hums of her mom's voice throughout her bedroom. It would always make her feel better. 

After her death, Julie spent a lot of time in bed. She wouldn’t get out for days, wouldn’t open the curtains, just lurking in the constant darkness. Her father would bring her up food that she would barely eat, and he would hum to her too, the way her mom had, but it never felt completely the same. Nights and nights she would wish her mom would just appear and hold her in her arms, but she never did. 

Tonight, she had Luke there holding her tightly. She thanked whoever was up there for giving her the gift of him, and giving her the gift of actually being able to touch him now. His strong arms wrapped themselves around her smaller body, and Julie’s head rested against his shoulder, weakly. 

“Julie…” Luke started, but was shushed by her. Her cheeks were starting to look a little green, and she reached her hand out. Before he knew what was going to happen, he grabbed at the bucket and pushed it under her chin, just in time. “‘M sorry.” Julie muttered, but Luke just rubbed at her back, trying to comfort her. The same way he had with Alex when he had drunk too much at a bar they had been playing at. They had been underage of course, and the drummer managed to throw up out of the back seat of Bobby’s van. Luke had rubbed his back, comfortingly, until it was all out of his system. Which he hadn’t been able to do their last night...

“Luke, it hurts.” Julie’s cry pulled Luke away from escaping down a memory and he looked down to see her clutching at her side, her body contorted in pain. He wasn’t sure he would be able to help her.

\--

_ “Man not on the seats!” Bobby shouted from the front seat as Alex’s hand clasped at his mouth, trying to keep the vomit from escaping out from his hands.  _

_ Reggie gagged from the front seat, the smell of vomit and alcohol wafting it’s way around the small space of the car.  _

_ Luke extended his hand to open the door so that Alex could deposit what was in his hand out onto the street, where they had now pulled over.  _

_ Alex sat back upright, his eyes barely open, and a bit—well a lot— of vomit still around his mouth. The poor kid was shit faced, drinking way more than he could handle, just because some dude that was already sitting at the bar, basically challenged him to do so. _

_ Luke pushed at his blonde hair, so that it wasn’t all in his eyes. The boy’s hair was getting quite long, and he insisted that in order to be an official rock star he’d have to have long hair. Luke liked it how it was, but he also didn’t want Alex to have to deal with washing throw up out of it. Or even worse, Luke having to wash throw up out of his hair.  _

_ “It’s okay man. You’re good.” Luke said comfortingly while Alex used all of his facial muscles to produce a dramatic frown. _

_ “Maybe lay off the booze next time Alex. Those IDs are for playing in the clubs, not drinking in them.” Bobby was clearly pissed off.  _

_ “Yo, how bout you fuck off for a second Bob. I clearly remember having to call your girlfriend last month to pick you up when you barfed in Reggie’s bushes outside his house. Bobby’s mouth closed, and he turned facing the steering wheel with a ‘hmmph’.  _

_ Alex made another disgusting gagging sound and flopped over to the outside of the car just in time for more liquor to make its way out of his system and onto the pavement. Reggie gagged again from the front seat.  _

_ “There, there.” Luke said, patting Alex’s back. He honestly couldn’t tell if he felt bad for his best friend or couldn’t wait to make fun of his hungover ass in the morning.  _

_ \-- _

Julie whimpered into Luke’s chest as he pulled her closer to him. He was so thankful in this moment for being able to touch her. 

Without thinking about it, he pulled her closer and layed the two of them down so the two shared her pillow, his chest pressed against her back. Her hands clutched at her stomach still and she let out a small whine from the pain. 

“Julie, you feel really warm.” He wasn’t sure what else to say at this moment. He didn’t know how else to help her, he could only wait for her dad to return. 

As they laid there together, Ray came back into the room, his phone still pressed to his ear. 

“Yeah, she’s burning up. She threw up a few times now, but nothing really is coming up.  Sé que sé . Mhmm. She’s holding her side.” 

Luke couldn’t stop feeling complete and utter fear. Julie had been overexerting herself during practice the past few days, and he should’ve noticed she wasn’t feeling well. He could’ve told her to rest.

“Mija, Tia is on a business trip right now and can’t come here. How bad does it hurt.” Julie made an iduabile moan. “Do you think you need to go to the hospital?”

At the mention of the hospital Luke’s heart sank into his stomach. Nothing good ever came from going into a hospital. He should know...based on his last moments alive. 

Julie didn’t have time to answer because she retched into the bucket once again.

Composing herself the best she could and wiping at her mouth with her shirt sleeve, she let out a shaky “Okay.” Luke unwrapped his arms from around her and helped her sit up once again, running his hand down her back. “You’re going to be okay.” He whispered, despite the fact Ray wouldn’t have been able to even hear him. Julie nodded softly, if she moved too fast, too hard, she would end up with her head back in the bucket. 

Ray explained to Julie that he was going to rinse out the bucket, and if she could get into a fresh change of clothes to get going, and he would be back in a moment. Her dad rushed out of the room, panic clearly setting in with him too. 

Luke couldn’t tear himself away from Julie, but he felt like he had to tell the guys too, who were still waiting in the studio to get back to practicing. If he just poofed down there real quick and filled them in, and then they could all go with Julie to the hospital. 

“Jules, I’m going to go get the guys and then we’ll come back up and go with you to the hospital. Are you going to be okay alone for a second?” Julie squeezed her eyes shut as another fit of pain came over her. 

_ Luke clutched at his stomach as the paramedic grabbed at his shoulders, pushing him back down against the gurney. “You need to stay still son.”  _

“I’ll be okay. Go get Alex and Reg.” Julie’s voice barely reached above a whisper. She turned to look at him, her expression soft, and his heart ached. Before poofing back to the garage, he held out his hands to her, helping her stand up from her bed. Nodding, she let go of his hand and made her way over to her dresser, to pull out a fresh sweatshirt. 

Noticing he still hadn’t left, she turned back to him with the sweatshirt still in her hands, Julie said, “Luke, I’ll be…” Sudden fiery pain stabbed her on her right side, harder than the times before, and she tumbled to the floor, her eyes closing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luke taking care of Julie makes my heart happy, even if it means hurt Julie. Oof
> 
> Here is the second chapter! Hope you enjoyed this! The third should be up soon. 
> 
> -T


	3. Stay With Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You don’t think this has to do with...us?” Reggie asked exactly what all the boys were all thinking. “Like because she saved us from Caleb?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters, One day. 
> 
> Brief, semi graphic descriptions of death this chapter.

_ Luke inhaled sharply at the unbearable discomfort that was traveling up from his stomach and to his chest, his arms wrapped around his midsection, his breath coming out in rapid gasps. _

_ He craned his neck to the side to look at Alex, who was in a similar position as himself, hunched over, his blonde hair falling in front of his eyes, his black cap discarded, now fallen to the pavement.  _

_ Alex groaned loudly at the pain, and Luke wanted to reach out and hold onto him. Hold him in his arms until the pain went away, the same way he had all those nights before when they shared his bed, and he cried into Luke’s chest.  _

_ Just one more chance to comfort his friend. _

_ Luke watched as Alex threw up into his hands, trying to hold back the choked gags and the stabbing pain. Watching Alex go through this pain was killing him.  _

_ ‘We’re going to die.’ Luke thought to himself.  _

_ Those dogs really were about to kill them, and there was nothing he could do to save his boys. Glancing to his right, he saw Reggie slumped against the arm of the couch, his eyes almost shut, face pale, and his lips turning an off shade of purple.  _

_ “Reggie…” Luke choked. He didn’t answer him. It took everything out of him to move his hands away from his abdomen and shake Reggie. The bassist didn’t move, his eyes just fluttered open for half a second, then closed again. Blood pooled at his mouth, and Luke yelled again for someone to call an ambulance. It was exerting any bit of energy that Luke was trying to hold on to, but he had to be strong for his friends.  _

_ This couldn’t be the end for them.  _

_ It just couldn’t.  _

_ He felt a hand slip into his, and twisted his head to look over at Alex, his mouth covered in a bit of blood, mirroring Reggies, and his face eerily pale, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.  _

_ “Luke. It hurts.” Luke nodded, tears welling up in his eyes and he closed them tightly to fight them back. He needs to be strong.  _

_ “I know ‘Lex.” Luke panted. _

_ “I’m scared.” _

_ Red and blue lights flooded the alleyway, and the sounds of sirens got closer to them.  _

_ A paramedic ran up to the boys, two others in tow, and grabbed Reggie first. He was fully unconscious.  _

_ “Code blue. We need to get him inside stat. Start compressions immediately. Once inside, use the defibrillator. Charged 2000 volts.” The other two nodded, and they helped lift Reggie’s limp body onto the gurney, rushing him over to one of the ambulances. The two left with Reggie, and two more took their place.  _

_ Alex’s coughing sounded strained, and blood pooled in his hands. A fourth paramedic made way over to him, lifting him up and helping him onto the gurney, pressing some contraption against his mouth to help with the breathing.  _

_ Sobs wracked through Luke, fully, and he couldn’t focus on anything anymore.  _

_ The pain.  _

_ The sirens.  _

_ The paramedic’s voice.  _

_ He felt himself getting lightheaded and slumped over before being caught by the arms of the EMT. _

_ “He can’t stand. We need to get him in immediately.” _

_ She and another hauled him off that grimy couch, and onto a third stretcher. She pushed his shirt up, checking his abdomen for signs of injury, while wheeling him to the ambulance.  _

_ Luke clutched at his stomach as the paramedic grabbed at his shoulders, pushing him back down against the gurney. “You need to stay still son.”  _

_ Alex and Reggie. He couldn’t see them anymore. Where did they go? _

_ Luke cried out and tried to sit up once again, before being pushed down one more time. Every inch of his body felt on fire and dizziness washed over his head.  _

_ “My chest.” He wheezed, the words barely coming out, his vision blurring, the paramedic fading from his view.  _

_ “Jackson, I need oxygen now. We need to start compressions. Now! Stay with us son.”  _

_ Luke could hear their voices, only barely audible above the agony of his heart stopping. _

_ This really was it.  _

_ They wouldn’t get their night at the Orpheum. They wouldn’t be able to finish the tour they were going to start tonight. Alex would never fall in love again, Reggie would never be able to get the keys to his very own place. _

_ And Luke. _

_ He just wished he could’ve said goodbye to his mom. To let her know, those last words to her, the ones born out of anger and frustration, shouldn’t have been the last.  _

_ But they were. They were the last.  _

\-- 

Ray sprinted into his daughters room the second he heard her drop to the floor. He pulled out his phone from his pocket once again, dialing 911.

“My daughter, she has been having stomach issues. She just passed out. We need an ambulance.” He recited their address and stayed on the line with them, answering a few questions in between moments of silence. 

Luke felt helpless. He couldn’t pick her up and hold her, he couldn’t help her. He choked back a small sobbing sound and he could’ve sworn he saw Ray make direct eye contact with him. 

Acting on instinct, Luke poofed back into the studio, where Reggie and Alex looked to be bickering on the couch. The moment Alex saw the tears at the brims of Luke’s eyes, he ran over to him. 

“It’s—um it’s—Julie—she’s not uhh okay.” There were so many thoughts in his head and none of the words that he was trying to say wanted to come out. Thankfully, with Alex, he didn’t ever need to. Alex basically could read his mind, and was quick to pull him into a bone crushing hug, his hand holding the back of Luke’s head. 

Reggie came up behind them, and wrapped his arms around Luke, giving him whatever comfort he could. 

“What’s going on man?” Alex asked. 

Luke nodded, wiped at his eyes, and said “Julie, she passed out. She was throwing up and her dad had to call an ambulance.” Shock filled Alex’s expression and he immediately understood. The idea that Julie had been throwing up and was now getting an ambulance to take her to the hospital felt all too familiar. 

“You don’t think this has to do with...us?” Reggie asked exactly what all the boys were all thinking. “Like because she saved us from Caleb?” 

“Nah, it must just be food poisoning or something.”

Luke titled his head and frowned at his friend. “Look how that turned out for us.” 

“Okay, let’s just go back into the house, check on her. Then we can go with her to the hospital. I’m sure she’s going to be fine.” Alex reassured him. 

However, even though he said it, he couldn’t help but feel like Reggie might have been right, not that he would ever admit that to him. Something sat in the back of his mind telling him that this was their fault. 

She had saved them from Caleb’s curse, and now she was sick the same way that the boys had been the night they died…

The three ghosts poofed back into Julie’s room and she was sitting upright now, with her dad’s arms around her and Carlos holding out a glass of water for her. Outside her window, red and blue lights flashed, and Luke could hear footsteps coming up the stairs, which he only assumed was the paramedics. 

A woman walked into the room, in a blue uniform, carrying a red bag full of equipment.

“Hi Julie. I heard you’re not feeling well huh?” Her tone was calm and she kneeled down to meet with Julie at eye level. 

Luke could see that Julie was starting to cry and his heart broke for her. He stumbled over to her and sat on her other side, placing his hand over hers. 

Julie nodded to the paramedics question and placed her hand over her abdomen. “It’s my stomach.”

The paramedic nodded, and took out her stethoscope, placing the bits in her ears and started checking her heartbeat. 

_ ‘We need to start compressions. Now! Stay with us son.’ _

__ “Your heart rate is a little high Julie. Can you breath in and out for me?” Julie’s breath was unsteady as she breathed in and out. 

Alex ducked his head and Reggie grasped his hand. They both knew what it felt like to not be able to breathe. 

_ ‘Guys, I can’t...it hurts.’ _

“I’m going to check your abdomen now, okay?” Julie muttered a small okay, and Luke squeezed her hand reassuringly, even though he was utterly terrified. The paramedic lifted the bottom of her shirt just slightly, and pressed her gloved hand against the lower right side, just below her bellybutton. Julie let out a choked sound of pain at the sudden pressure. 

Nodding, the paramedic looked over at Ray as she put Julie’s shirt back into place. 

“We have to get her to the hospital immediately.” Luke felt nauseous, even though he hadn’t actually eaten in well...25 years. “Julie, you’ve got symptoms of appendicitis, and it seems to be on the verge of rupturing, if it hasn’t yet. The doctors will have to do a full scan of your lower abdomen, and then prep you for surgery to remove it. Can you stand?” 

_ “He can’t stand. We need to get him in immediately.” _

Before Julie could answer, her dad spoke up. “Last time she tried to get up, she fainted. We shouldn’t risk it.” The paramedic nodded. She spoke into the walkie-talkie that was attached to her uniform, informing the other EMT’s to grab a Reeve’s stretcher to carry her down the stairs. 

They had to be extra careful in case her appendix burst on the way to the hospital. 

Luke didn’t want to let go of Julie’s hand, he didn’t want her to be taken to the hospital. He didn’t want her to be taken away from him. He felt Alex’s hands on his shoulders pulling him up from his place on the floor, as the other paramedics moved Julie to bring her back downstairs. 

Alex ushered him over to the bed, and Luke collapsed into his friend, letting the tears flow freely. 

“Hey, hey, it’s just her appendix. They fix that all the time right?” Alex looked up at Reggie and he shrugged, throwing his hands up like ‘I don’t know man’. “She’s going to be okay.” 

Luke sniffled and nodded, wiping at his face. “No you’re right. She’s going to be fine. I was just...scared.”

_ “I’m scared.” _

“I know. I get it.” Of course he got it. Julie was their family now. Their only family. And although what was happening between Luke and her was a different dynamic than Julie’s relationship with Alex and Reggie, they couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. 

Could they even exist without her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one actually made me a little emotional even writing it. I had written a death scene for the boys in another fic, and this one kind of hit me hard, thinking about how the boys as ghosts probably have intense memories of dying. 
> 
> OKAY anyways, here's chapter 3. I wrote it right after I finished chapter 2 and I just thought whats the point of waiting to post it. I'm sure 4 will be up soon! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!! 
> 
> -T


	4. Give Me Therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Without even thinking about it, Reggie blurted out “I’m glad we didn’t die in a hospital.” Luke’s eyes grew wide at the comment and him and Alex looked over at Reggie"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theres light past Luke/Alex in this chapter, and I tried to keep the majority of this one light hearted but the angst shines through regardless.

_Beep...Beep...Beep…_

Luke pushed the palms of his hands hard against his ears to try and drown out the incessant beeping noises that the machines next to Julie were making. 

After the paramedics had taken her down to the ambulance and got her comfortable, the boys poofed into it with them, elbowing each other in the corner, trying to stand away from everything. 

Being in an ambulance again had an effect on all three of the ghosts. Reggie’s palms grew sweaty and Alex picked at the skin around his nails anxiously. Luke didn’t take his eyes off of Julie for even a second the whole time. 

When they had gotten into the emergency room, a couple doctors transferred her to a bed and started checking her stomach and other parts of her abdomen with some sort of machine. They asked her some basic questions, like what she had eaten that day, how long she was feeling sick, and if she was still lightheaded. 

Julie had clearly still been in quite a bit of pain because her breathing was rapid and her voice came out in a wheezing sort of sound when she struggled to answer the questions. 

The doctors, Dr. Landon and Dr. Garcia informed her that she had peritonitis, which was a fancy term that meant her appendix had burst, which happened when she was still at home. Too much movement usually caused it, and her getting up and trying to get changed to go to the hospital definitely didn’t help. Luke couldn’t help the irrational thought that he caused this when he had pulled her into his arms when they laid together on Julie’s bed. 

“An infection could spread the longer we have you wait, but we caught the rupture early, so once we get an OR opened and prepped, as well as perform a couple tests on you, and then we’ll be ready for surgery.” 

They wheeled her up to a private room, her dad and the ghosts following right beside. 

Once in the private room, the doctor explained that it wasn’t a complicated surgery, that they have done it a hundred times, and for everyone to keep calm.

They explained to her that there could be risks along with the surgery, ones that had to disclose to everyone, but Luke stopped hearing everything when the doctor mentioned internal bleeding and all he could picture was Reggie spitting blood up next to him on that couch. 

Julie’s vitals got taken and they pulled in another machine to perform an ultrasound, to check the damage the ruptured appendix had done, and they took a bit of blood from her to test for signs of infections, then inserted an IV.

Ray held onto his daughter's hand, giving her reassuring comments, and told her that he would be right there with her when she woke up after it. Reggie had also added a “Us to!” from across the room. 

A nurse walked into the room and told Julie they would administer the anesthetic before the surgery began, so she wouldn’t have to wait in pain for much longer. 

Luke had made his way to the chairs that were right near the bed, but he felt like he couldn’t focus on a single thing, especially with the sounds of the beeping of the machine. 

Ray had left the room to sign some papers with the nurses to make sure that her health insurance and everything was in order, and once he had left with a parting kiss to Julie’s forehead, Reggie took his spot next to her bed and placed his hand on hers. 

She was already asleep at this point, the anesthetic working fast on top of the fact she must have been so exhausted. 

Alex couldn’t help but notice Luke’s current state and went to sit down next to his best friend, prying one of his hands away from his ears, to hold in both of his. Luke slumped down and pressed his head into Alex’s shoulder. The blonde moved one of his hands away from grasping Luke’s and combed his fingers through Luke’s hair to calm him. Luke’s eyes pressed closed, a small tear escaping through his shut eyelids. 

Alex kissed the top of Luke’s head and whispered into his hair. “She’s going to be okay.” Alex reassured him. 

Anxiety was nothing new for Alex. He knew what it felt like to be feeling completely helpless for no reason, and just having to succumb to the tight feeling that would wreck his chest and the pit in his stomach. He knew that Luke never liked to feel helpless, that he wanted to be strong. Hell, he went out of his way to comfort Alex in their final moments despite literally dying. 

Julie meant everything to these boys, and Luke having to stand by and watch her get sick was killing him. Though Alex couldn’t help but feel terribly worried for Julie, he knew he needed to stay strong for his friend. He could worry on his own later. 

Luke’s hand squeezed Alex’s tightly as a reaction to the small kiss and he muttered an almost inaudible ‘thank you’. 

Alex turned to glance over at Reggie, barely moving to keep Luke where he was, and saw Reggie also had tears in his eyes, standing in place of Ray, watching over Julie. Alex bet that if she was awake right now she would totally tease the boys for how they were reacting. She wouldn’t want them to be crying over her. Not after everything they went through. 

“Hey do you remember that time I broke my wrist after falling off your roof that time Reg?” Alex in these situations was usually the quiet one, he would put his head down, let the anxiety consume him, and let Luke be the one to make the mood lighthearted. But with his current state right now, tears falling from his face and dropping onto Alex’s pink hoodie, he knew he had to step up. 

Reggie sniffled and laughed, his eyes shining once he actually remembered what had happened. “Yep. Bobby laughed at you for a week straight.” Alex nodded. 

Those boys somehow always ended up hurting themselves. Luke scraping up his knees after tripping during a footrace in Alex’s driveway. Reggie got concussed after trying to skateboard once, claiming it was basically the same thing as surfing and he had done that since he was a kid. It wasn’t. Bobby once got in a fist fight with a dude in a club, claiming that the guy had started it, but really Bobby had after hearing the dude make a homophobic comment, and used a slur that totally warranted a punch in the mouth. 

The time with Alex had actually landed him in the hospital though. His wrist at an odd angle as the three boys stood in the emergency room at the end of his bed, holding in giggles. 

“As if he was any better. I distinctly remember him trying to climb out a window at a party and falling directly on his ankle.” Alex rebutted. Luke chuckled against his shoulder and sat up with a quick wipe to his eyes. 

“It was pretty funny Alex. Like when they had you doped up on pain meds.” Alex glared at him, his expression reading ‘don’t you dare bring that up’.

Reggie knew the expression all too well and added, “Oh GOD yes. When you basically outed you and Luke right then and there." 

Luke snapped his fingers pointing them at Alex. “That did happen!” Alex blushed and rubbed his hands against his face in embarrassment. When he placed his hands back on his lap, Luke made sure to grab them again comfortingly. 

“Bobby and I knew anyway, but we didn’t think Alex would out himself!” Reggie laughed deeply.

“They gave me morphine! I couldn’t help it. Who gives a kid morphine!” 

Luke never forgot how funny Alex had been all drugged up.

_Alex squirmed on the hospital bed, his hand bent into a 45 degree angle in front of him, his other hand grasping Luke’s, cutting off any blood flow._

_“Dude.” Luke whined, trying to pull his hand away from his friend. “I get you want us to do everything together, but I don’t wanna lose this hand._

_Reggie snickered from the end of the hospital bed, Bobby dipping his head and smirking._

_This was serious, Alex had really hurt himself, the screaming from his place in the bushes circling Reggie’s house, had pierced through all of their skulls. They’d never be able to forget that. Or how hilarious it was watching his tumble his way down._

_A nurse came over to Alex with a syringe that she inserted into the IV line they had fed into his arm after he came in._

_“This is just a little something to help with the pain. A doctor will be over in a little bit to set your hand and put the cast on.” Worry flooded Alex’s face at the mention of a cast. They all knew this meant Sunset Curve’s drummer would be out of commission for a few weeks._

_“You just had to fall off that roof, huh?” Luke sniped, but there was no real bite in his words. Honestly he felt a little bad for Alex. When he would inevitably go home to his parents tonight with a broken wrist, they’d make him stay home and not go to band practice as much especially since he wouldn’t be able to even play._

_Alex’s eyes started to get droopy and the worrisome frown he had on his face started to dissipate into a softer expression. “Okay woah.” He said and the three boys couldn’t help but laugh at their friend again._

_Reggie hit Bobby’s arm turning to him and asking “Yo, wanna go find some snacks?” Bobby nodded._

_“You want anything Luke?” Luke shrugged and told them to surprise him, turning back to look at Alex who was smiling up at him._

_Moments passed and then Alex let out a long “Luuuuuke.” He drew out his friend's name. “I’m feeling good man.” Luke held back his laughter and just nodded at his friend._

_“I bet bro.” Alex reached his good hand out and traced his fingers along Luke’s jaw, his index slightly brushing Luke’s lips, lingering there for a second while Luke breathed a shuttering breath out slowly from the contact. Quickly he swatted Alex's hand away from his face hissing at him to stop._

_The two had been a bit of something more for a few weeks at this point, neither having told Reggie and Bobby, and Luke especially didn’t want the entire emergency room to know something was going on between them._

_“You have got a nice face.” Alex stressed each word as he said it and Luke just shook his head in wonderment at how different his friend was with just a little bit of a pain killer in his system._

_“Will you just shut up and lie down. You’re not here to flirt with me, you’re here to get your hand fixed.”_

_“It doesn’t even hurt anymore.” Alex claimed proudly._

_“Yeah dumbass because you’re doped up. You should be glad Bobby isn’t here because he’d roast your ass with that comment.”_

_“What comment?” He heard the guitarist say from behind him, Reggie in tow with an armful of snacks._

_“Oh never mind.” Luke grabbed Alex’s free hand again, partly because he wanted to stop him from grabbing at his face again, and also because he knew he could get away with it without raising an abnormal amount of suspicion._

_As Reggie and Bobby got back, plopping down in a couple chairs a nurse had brought over for them when they got there, a young doctor walked up to the bed introducing himself as Dr. Brown and saying he was going to fix Alex all up good._

_“Don't mind if you do Doc.” Luke couldn’t tell if Alex’s tone was flirting until he heard Reggie gag a little bit on the chip he just ate. Him and Bobby looked in pain the way they were holding in their laughter._

_The doctor gave him a dazzling smile as he gently took hold of his arm with the broken wrist. Dr. Brown looked like a model, with his perfectly quaffed hair and toned forearms under his lab coat._

_Luke couldn’t help but feel a bit of jealousy watching Alex gaze up at him with total doe eyes._

_‘It’s just the drugs.’ He told himself. ‘It’s just the drugs.’_

“I’m pretty sure I remember that doctor being pretty attractive though, despite the drugs.” Luke coughed, and he saw Alex’s teasing look as the boy pulled him back to him with an arm around the shoulder. 

"You were pretty bold with some of the things you said to him. Something about his arms?" Reggie commented. The boys started to laugh until they noticed Ray coming back into Julie's room.

Ray returned to the room with doctors Garcia and Landon, and the boys only caught the end of what they had been discussing. Something about the OR being prepped and ready for her. 

Luke stood up, leaving Alex's half embrace. Alex moved his arm around to the back of the chair Luke had just been occupying, and watched Luke walk over to Julie. 

Placing his hand over her’s, he glanced down at her face. Asleep her features looked so soft and so young, and felt tears well back into his eyes. “We’ll be right here when you get back.” Luke whispered as her bed got pushed away from him and out the door by the nurses. 

As much as Luke wanted to follow her moving bed into the operating room, he knew that would not end well with him watching surgeons cut into Julie’s abdomen. Something in the back of his head also was saying to him that if Julie ever found out about it, he would never hear the end of the boundaries talk.

He opted for going back to his space next to Alex and letting him grab onto his hand once again. 

Reggie sat on the other side of Luke, grabbing his other hand, and smiled at his two friends. 

The longer they sat in silence, the longer it felt like they were just waiting for the worst.

Without even thinking about it, Reggie blurted out “I’m glad we didn’t die in a hospital.” Luke’s eyes grew wide at the comment and him and Alex looked over at Reggie. 

“I just, I can’t help but keep thinking about it. I mean, It wasn't ideal to die in an alley on Sunset Boulevard, but the idea of dying in some place like this? That was always a fear of mine.” Reggie paused for a moment, breathing in and out shakily before continuing when Luke and Alex didn’t say anything. “If we ended up living long enough to get to a hospital they would’ve separated us. Dying alone. That would've been terrifying.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind was a small thought that spoke to him saying _I did die alone. They were gone first._

Luke didn’t like to think about ‘what ifs’ when he was alive. He lived in the moment. It was now or never, always. When someone thought too much about ‘what ifs’ they could never move on from the past. But after coming back as a ghost, he found himself doing that way more than he cared to admit. 

Every time he would visit his parents house and just sit with them quietly for a few hours, looking at their faces which had aged so much over the years, he could help and think _what if I had never died? What if I never left her?_

“You wouldn’t have been alone Reg.” Luke said but Reggie shook his head. 

“No they would’ve called my parents, and I just know they wouldn’t have shown up. They probably wouldn’t have even answered the phone.” It hurt to hear Reggie talk this way. None of them had it good when it came to their families, but they knew Reggie was probably right. 

“Emily would’ve come. She would’ve been here enough for all of us. Probably Sammy too.” _Sammy._ Sammy had been Alex’s older sister. She was away in law school when the guys had died. Alex didn’t get to see her a ton, only some holidays really, but he knew that if he had lived long enough to be brought to a hospital before dying, she sure would've made her way there. He hadn't mentioned her recently.

Alex looked down at his hand that was still threaded with Luke’s and allowed himself to reminisce. To think about Sammy and how she was always such a good sister to him. Despite being a bit older than him, they never failed to bond and be close with each other. Dynamics did change when she moved away for school. He never got the chance to even come out to her. That last Christmas she wasn’t able to come home, and that’s when he was going to tell her. He should’ve just picked up the phone and called her…

“I don’t think we should talk about this.” Luke said, prying his hands away from Alex and Reggie’s and walking over to the windows, staring out at a dark Los Angeles. They never really did talk about that night. He liked to keep it that way. 

“I think it could help. We never did talk about that night.” It was like Alex was in his head. He always was. “Plus it could...I don’t know, distract us a bit from worrying about Julie. 

Luke crossed his arms over his chest, less so in anger and more as a way of comforting himself. He’d been thinking about him dying for hours now. Ever since he poofed into Julie’s room and saw her halfway into a puke bucket. 

“What’s there to talk about?” Luke said defensively. He rubbed his hand across his eyes, tears threatening to spill over once again. 

“I’m glad we were together.” Reggie whispered. 

“I am too.” Alex agreed. 

_I’m not!_ Luke wanted to shout. He wanted to yell about how unfair it was that he had to see Reggie’s lifeless body be taken away from the couch while the paramedics couldn’t revive him. He wanted to scream at Alex about how he couldn’t pull him into his arms and take his pain away. He had to watch his friends die in front of him before he was taken too. It was only minutes before him, but those had been the longest ones in his entire young life.

Sure, they were all together now, but those images of his friends dying would never leave. Those ‘what ifs’ would always tear away at his mind. 

But he couldn’t say that to them. Not now. It wasn’t their fault they went first. It wasn’t Reggie’s fault that he always had a shit immune system and was always the one to get a cold and give it to the rest of them. It wasn’t Alex’s fault for not being able to comfort Luke the way he wanted to be comforted by him. It wasn’t in any of their control what happened that night. 

_Think about Julie. Think about how if you hadn't died, you would of never met her..._

“I just...I can’t get it out of my head. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since the night we thought we were going to fade.” Luke felt like even though there was nobody to yell at, he could still be vulnerable and open with his band. “That night, we laid there and the jolts were going to get us. I thought I was going to lose you guys again. And now Julie getting sick tonight just brought it all back up to the surface. I saw things that night that we died I wish I never had to. And I’m scared I’ll never forget it.” Alex nodded in understanding, Reggie also. Luke slid down to sit on the cold tile of the floor and wrapped his arms around his legs, a gesture he did ever since he was a kid and upset. 

“But Julie will be okay. And we. We will be okay.” Alex reassured his friends, and himself. 

“Maybe we should get a ghost therapist.” Reggie joked and Alex rolled his eyes, groaning at the joke. But it helped make Luke smile. 

“Maybe we should, boys. Maybe we should.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was quite a bit longer than the other three chapters, and I actually decided to cut it shorter, leaving the rest for chapter 5. I definitely tried to explore the guys a bit more in this chap, focusing on their feelings and their bond. I dig writing their dynamic so. 
> 
> Anyways...hope you all enjoyed!!
> 
> -T


	5. Boundaries, Smoundries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh bro, it felt like years. The music blowed too.” Luke laughed, of course the boys had an ongoing joke about the choir music. Never around Alex though because they didn’t want to upset or embarrass him. They probably would have mentioned it to him after he had stopped going.
> 
> As if anybody even went to church for the music. “Could’ve been a little better with some rock n roll.” 

_ Maybe we should, boys. Maybe we should.  _

Alex stood up from the creaky plastic hospital chair and stepped over tentatively to where Luke was now sitting on the floor. 

“You know you can talk to us. You think I don’t know what it would’ve been like for you man? I remember everything...so clearly. And I know how you felt. Reggie and I were going through it too and you were so much stronger than us.” 

Luke shook his head, whispering, “I wasn’t.” 

Alex grasped the sides of his face in his hands. Looking into his eyes he said, “You were. You have always been.” 

“Yeah, you’re like our leader dude. We can’t do any of this without you.” Reggie said appearing next to his friends, sitting down and crossing his legs. 

Luke felt his heart swell at the pride and admiration he felt for his best friends. His family. If they could get through literal death, they could get through anything together. 

_ “There’s no coming back from this.” Alex said as his legs gave out and he crumbled down to the rug in the studio, next to where Reggie was already laying.  _

“I’ll put out an ad. Ghost therapist wanted! Three ghosts with a heavy amount of baggage...and instruments.” Reggie joked, trying to bring the mood back up. He held out his hands to his friends, grasping them as they reached over, and squeezed tightly. 

_ Alex lifted his hand out to Luke who was trying to keep his upright position, his hand clutching the edge of the piano. “Take it. Please.” Another jolt burst through their ghost bodies.  _

“How long do you think surgery takes?” Luke asked changing the subject away from their untimely death, to the girl who brought them back from it. 

_ Luke gave up trying, the pain too unbearable, an eerily similar one to that fateful night. He lowered himself next to Alex and Reggie and huffed out a breath.  _

“Do you think she gets to keep it?” Alex glared. “What? Maybe she could keep it in a jar in her room. Could be cool!” 

Alex groaned again and rolled his eyes back into his head. “Okay.”

“Reggie. That’s nasty man.” Luke felt himself relax after a tiny fit of laughter. 

_ “I love you guys.” Reggie muttered, his breathing ragged.  _

_ — _

Julie had been in surgery for almost an hour before Dr. Garcia came back into the room to talk to Ray. 

Julie’s dad had come back in shortly after Luke’s small breakdown, when the guys were still all sitting together on the floor. Reggie had been the first to stand up and walk over to accompany Ray. It was his own special way of comforting him. 

Ever since the guys met the Molinas, Reggie had formed a little bond with the man of the house. Reggie’s dad had pretty much been the biggest piece of shit when he was growing up, yelling and even throwing punches, so for Reggie to attach himself to Ray wasn’t surprising to Luke and Alex. If it made him happy, despite Alex’s teasing remarks sometimes, they didn’t want him to change. 

Alex stayed next to Luke on the floor, their bent knees touching and Alex’s arm across Luke’s shoulders again. 

Despite their extensive history, from being childhood best friends, to bandmates, to each other’s ‘crushes’ and more, and now to being best friends again in death, they always could find comfort in one another.

Alex wasn’t an idiot and he could see the way Luke was when he was with Julie. Their connection was electric, and for Luke to have to see her go through all of this, getting sick and ending up in the hospital, he knew it would eat at Luke for a while. No matter how tough he wanted to appear for everyone. 

But tonight he had let some stuff out that he clearly had been holding in since they had come back as ghosts. They all were able to get a little closure from talking about what they had all felt from their untimely deaths. 

“Mr. Molina?” Dr. Garcia’s voice filled the quiet room. Luke’s head perked up at the sound, knowing that he must have news on Julie. 

Good news. 

He hoped. 

Ray stood up, shaking the doctors hand again, and asked him how Julie was doing. 

“Julie is great, Mr. Molina. The surgery was a success and she’s going to be just fine. But…” As soon as the doctor uttered the word Luke squeezed Alex’s hand in worry. 

“...because of the rupture there is the possibility of an infection, and we did find some signs of which. This happens because of oozing from the appendix once it bursts. There was very little pus and the amount of bacteria is most likely minor, but she’ll be on a medication for a couple days and we’ll monitor her, and then she’ll be good to go.” Ray’s exhale at the news could be heard by Luke from across the room, and relief fell over all the boys. 

“She’s okay.” Luke heard Alex say from beside him.

“She’ll be brought back up from the O.R in a few minutes, and will most likely still be asleep for quite a few more hours. You’re welcome to stay of course, but if you want to go home, don’t feel guilty. She won’t even know you’re gone.” Ray nodded and thanked him again before the doctor left the room. 

Only a few moments later, Julie’s bed, with Julie still unconscious, was wheeled into the room. The nurses fiddled around with something on her IV and adjusted her blankets neatly before leaving Ray alone in the room. Well, except for the three ghosts that had been there all night with him. 

“Mi corazón.” Ray said before kissing Julie on the forehead. “Estas bien.” Ray looked upwards. “Gracias a Dios.” Reggie followed in Ray’s footsteps and walked over to the other side of Julie’s bed and smiled down at her. Luke caught a glimpse of Reggie quickly wiping at his eyes. 

If she only knew the real effect she had on these boys.

“Mija. You’re going to be asleep for a little longer, and Carlos is probably driving the neighbors crazy, so I’m going to head home. I’ll be here when you wake up. Lo prometo.” He kissed her forehead once more before grabbing his jacket off the chair and leaving the room.

A comfortable silence filled the room after Julie’s dad left and the boys found themselves just sitting and staring at Julie’s bed. As if waiting for her to sit up any second, ready to go. 

“She’d totally call us creeps for just sitting here like this.” Alex said after a few minutes of silence. Reggie chuckled. 

“Boundaries, guys, boundaries!” Luke said in a high pitched voice, trying to imitate her. 

“Boundaries, smoundries. She should be happy to have us!” Reggie teased. 

__

The nurses had been right and Julie slept for a few hours, the boys chatting for moments at a time, and then sitting in complete silence for others, just listening to the sounds of the hospital equipment making their small noises. 

_ Beep...beep...beep. _

Luke couldn’t listen to those noises anymore or else he was going to spiral back into the hole he had dug himself earlier. Shooting up from his spot, now back in the chair, he left the room, not saying anything to the boys. 

Reggie and Alex shared a look. 

“He’s overwhelmed.” Alex stated the obvious. 

He thought about getting up and following him, but before he said anything, Reggie stood up.

“I’ll go. The beeping is starting to drive me a little crazy too. You stay here with Jules.” Alex nodded and Reggie poofed out, leaving him alone to stare at the bed by himself. 

Luke found himself poofing into the small chapel in the hospital, a room that at this hour of the morning was completely empty. 

He made his way through the aisle of pews and sat down in one of them, willing his guitar from its place in the studio to appear in his hands. His fingers found the fret and strings and started playing a few chords. 

As he played he looked up at the big cross that was hanging on the wall in front of him. Luke had never been religious, his family never brought him up that way. Now, in death, he was almost more sure that none of it was true. Before Julie, they had just been brought to that dark room. No bright light, no God. Nothing. Not that he had faith that there would be anyways. Alex grew up in a Catholic family, but he never did ask him what he thought about the lack of a God at death. He'd have to do that eventually.

Luke always felt like religion was just for people that needed to hold onto something. He didn't need that because he had music. Playing and listening to music had always been the thing to calm him down when he found himself getting worked up. Every bad day he had always ended good, if it meant getting to sit down and play something. He had contemplated playing when he was still in Julie’s room, just to pass the time, but Ray had been in and out of there, and nurses were also in and out to check on him. Unexplainable music coming from thin air would’ve been...too weird for them. 

But here, with nobody occupying this space, or nearby, he felt it would be safe. He plucked at the strings a little more, and hummed out a melody that was swimming through his mind. 

His fingers danced across the neck, music he had never played before coming to life from his hands. Words placed themselves on his lips and he sang out softly. 

_ Keep me wrapped around your fingers _

_ Your power holding me to you _

_ Shining brighter than before  _

_ Saving me saving me saving me _

He hummed a little bit more as his strumming started to repeat the same melody from before, that was until he heard a familiar voice behind him. 

“Sounds good. Would sound even better with a little bit of bass.” Reggie.

Luke turned to watch him as he walked down the aisle, his hand tapping each pew edge before he crossed around Luke and sat next to him, his hand tapping his knee dramatically.

“I thought it would’ve been Alex to come after me.”

“I relieved him of his position of comforting best friend. I’m on duty now.”

The two sat in their comfortable silence once again before Luke started strumming on his guitar again after Reggie pointed at his instrument and said, “Don’t stop on my account.” 

Luke kept playing until his fingers stopped, them having a mind of their own, and he really had to think about what chords needed to come next. 

“Remember that time Alex took us to church with his family?” Reggie asked, the chapel clearly bringing back memories for him. 

Luke remembered that day perfectly though, it had been a total disaster. The boys had a sleepover one Saturday night when they were all about 14, and Alex’s family frequented church every Sunday morning. Which, turned out, included everyone in the household, despite Reggie and Luke never going even with their own families. 

“Alex felt so bad about it. Didn’t it last like three hours?”

“Oh bro, it felt like years. The music blowed too.” Luke laughed, of course the boys had an ongoing joke about the choir music. Never around Alex though because they didn’t want to upset or embarrass him. They probably would have mentioned it to him after he had stopped going.

As if anybody even went to church for the music. “Could’ve been a little better with some rock n roll.” 

“Jesus could’ve been a rockstar based on Alex’s standards, with that long hair of his.” 

“Oh everyone knows you can’t rock without the hair!” Reggie chuckled. A pause. “What was that you were playing? It really did sound pretty good.”

Luke shrugged. “It just came to me. That beeping was driving me crazy in there, and as much as I didn’t wanna leave Jules, I needed a distraction.” Reggie made a noise that indicated he definitely agreed with him. 

“I think I’m going to write it and give it to her after she wakes up.” Luke said. 

“You find some paper and I’ll find a pen.” Reggie said. “We could snatch a card from the gift shop on our way back up and put it in there for her.” Luke nodded, agreeing. 

As the boys sat together in the chapel, figuring out the lyrics to the song, and messing around with some harmonies, upstairs back in Julie’s room, Alex had moved his chair closer to the side of Julie’s bed. He had done it hoping the nurses that came in to check her vitals had just assumed that her dad had moved it there before leaving.

As the sun started to creep up the LA skyline, Julie’s eyes fluttered open, and Alex straightened up from his slouched posture on the chair, his eyes scanning Julie’s face. 

“Hey Alex.” She said, her voice scratchy from the dryness of her throat. 

Alex smiled, his eyes welling up again. “Hey Jules.” He grabbed her hand, gripping it tightly. Her eyes moved around the room, clearly looking for either the guys or her dad. 

“They’re downstairs. They went for a walk. Oh and your dad went home a little while ago. He should be back soon. The nurses told him you wouldn’t be awake for a little while.” 

Before Julie could respond, a nurse who had been attending the room all night walked in with a bright smile. “Good to see you awake Julie. I’m just going to check your vitals and look at the incision. Okay? It should only take a couple minutes, then you can get back to resting.” The nurse looked young and had a very kind demeanor. She went through the motions of checking her vitals, her heart rate and such. Then she peeled back the bandage that was on her stomach. 

Alex had tried to look away, trying to respect Julie’s privacy but he peeked a little look at it, his curiosity eating him. He’d never gotten surgery before and he was sure Julie would have a pretty gnarly scar from it. It wasn’t as exciting as he thought it would be. 

“Everything is looking good Julie. Are you feeling hungry? I know you had quite the upset stomach when you came in so if you don’t want to eat that’s okay right now.” 

“I’m not hungry. Pretty thirsty though.” 

“I’ll grab you some water and some ice chips. I’ll be right back.” 

After the nurse returned again and delivered Julie her water and ice chips, she told her she was going to let her rest, and if she needed anything to press the button anytime.

Julie turned her attention back to Alex, who was still gripping her hand. 

“How are you feeling?” Alex asked.

“Better than before. I’m pretty sure they have me on some pain meds too. So not too bad.” Alex nodded. “The whole night feels pretty hazy now though.” That was probably for the best. 

“We all felt really bad.” Alex started. “Seeing you sick, shook us up a little bit. It really, uhh it affected us more than we thought it would. ” Julie raised an eyebrow at that, not totally understanding what he meant. 

“Luke mostly...Luke was pretty shaken. Watching you get sick, getting put into an ambulance. It uh, it brought up a lot of stuff for him. About dying.” Julie’s expression softened and she understood immediately.  _ Poor Luke. _

“Oh.” Was all she could muster. 

“He’s okay now. Or well he’s going to be. He wandered off a little bit ago, but I think he was just a little restless. He was just worried.” 

Not that Julie had any control over the events of one her non-vital organs exploding inside her body, she couldn’t help but feel incredibly guilty for putting Luke through that. For putting all the boys through that. 

"I'm sorry."

"Oh please...don't apologize. It just sucks that you had to go through all that. I know its...pretty scary." Alex glanced down at his hand that was still closed in Julie's.

“Are...are you okay? Did it...bring up things for you too?” Alex shook his head quickly. Mostly the night just rattled him, his anxiety telling him scary things like 'Julie wouldn't make it'...

“I’m okay. Death. Death was hard for all of us, but I actually had a talk with, well with Willie, about the whole dying thing, before. Luke, he just never talked about it. There comes a point where you can't hold that stuff in anymore. But the thing is, this afterlife isn't so bad as long as we get to spend it with you.” Julie smiled. 

“Oh and Reg, well knowing him he probably had a one sided therapy session with your dad about it.” A bigger smile spread across Julie’s face. It could’ve been totally weird that Reggie had a relationship with her dad, but honestly, Julie loved watching him bond with him. Ray was a great dad. 

“Luke, he cares about you a lot. We all do, don’t get me wrong. But you guys have a connection beyond us, and he just…” Alex stopped. Luke should tell her on his own time.  “He’s going to be happy you're awake.”

She nodded. She felt relieved to be awake too. To have the surgery behind her now.

Surprising Alex, suddenly she said, “I love you, Alex.” 

Julie closed her eyes after that and settled back into her pillow, careful not to move too much. 

His heart swelled. “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like it's been so long since I updated and it's only been like two days. Either way, hope you enjoyed this new chapter. I tried to make it a little less sad, not sure i succeeded that well though. I did enjoy deepening the bond between Alex and Julie though. 
> 
> Oh and of course had to add in the headcanon of Catholic!Alex 
> 
> Anyway hope you liked it!! Chapter 6 will be up soon. Luke gets to see awake Julie again. Pretty emotional.
> 
> -T


	6. Sing Me to Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Care for me
> 
> Hold me again
> 
> Saved me saved me saved me 
> 
> My own perfect harmony"

_ Keep me wrapped around your fingers _

_ Your power holding me to you _

_ Shining brighter than before  _

_ Saving me saving me saving me _

_ How could I get through  _

_ Each morning day and night  _

_ Without you by my side _

_ Care for me _

_ Hold me again _

_ Save me save me save me  _

Luke had probably written hundreds of songs in all the years he was alive, and more in death. Some were definitely better than others, but all of them still held this weird special place in his heart. He remembered the first time he had written a song. He was in fourth grade and his teacher, Mrs. Anderson had given the class a creative writing assignment. They had to write a poem, a song, or another piece of creative writing and then share it in front of the class at the end of the week. 

Luke had gotten his guitar that same year, and although he couldn’t play it very well yet, he was still learning after all, he was the only one in the class who had been brave enough to write a song. Alex too had been in that class with him and he had just opted for writing a poem.

He had gone home and put cassette tape after cassette tape through his stereo and listened intently to the words of Michael Jackson, of George Michael, the Beatles, and even played one of his dads Fleetwood Mac records building inspiration for his own song.

After staying up all night listening and doing his own version of research, he played around with writing a love song. He’d never been in love before, he was only 9 after all, but he tried his very best. His first draft of the song he shared with Alex during lunch one day, and Alex had laughed a little at him. 

“What do you know about girls Luke? Eww.” It had been fitting for Alex, but Luke hadn’t connected those dots yet. 

Needless to say, Luke went home and started writing the song all over again. He went through paper after paper, scribbling big words across the page trying to fit them together so when he sang them out, they sounded like what he wanted to listen to. 

It really wasn’t much, he rhymed some words together, and put a little strumming to go along with it and when he performed it for his class, his voice cracked a little on some of the words, and his friend clapped for him when he finished. His teacher gave him an A.

When he was a freshman in high school, he had an entire journal filled with different writings, all about his feelings, and his dreams, and girls. A lot of them were about girls. 

He even gave a song to a girl he was on a date with, named Allison Parker, after she asked him out to their school’s Sadie Hawkins dance. Luke knew she had a crush on him, and he definitely reciprocated. When she had asked him by his locker after school one day, with a blush covering her cheeks, he went home and wrote it all down for her. He called it ‘blushin’. It wasn’t his best that he could admit, but when he sang it to her after the dance that night, she had cringed, and then ended up dating a different dude a week later. 

Alex and Reggie had comforted him about it when he asked, “What did I do wrong?” The song might’ve been too bold, but he thought it was a great little gift. He had even sang it to his mom before giving it to her, and she told him it was “super cute”. 

Luke had a few girlfriends during high school, who all were so obsessed with the fact he was a musician. Most of the time they had liked that about him more than just him as a person. But he never let it get to him, because he knew that music was the most important thing in his life, besides his band mates. He didn’t need to fall in love, or have silly crushes like Bobby or Reggie, because when he was playing music and singing, that would always be the highest moments of his life. 

Of course, when his dynamic changed with Alex, his music started to shift into writing songs for him, which he thought he wouldn’t do again, not after Allison Parker. Alex had always appreciated them though and in the end it helped boost his confidence to new heights. 

When the guys were starting to get more popular and Sunset Curve had a bigger following, Luke became a machine for writing songs. Every single one of them better than the last. He’d have his notebook stuffed to the brim with lyrics and would bring them into the studio for band practice every day and the guys would smile, and they’d get to playing. 

Julie had changed everything. Julie had changed him. 

_ “I just wanted to tell you, I think you make me a better writer.” _

From the second they met, Luke could feel the electricity that was their connection. 

It really started when he read the music that had been sitting atop the grand piano in their studio. The way that song felt when he read it was indescribable, and then hearing Julie sing it that morning? It  _ changed _ him. 

He had never really been one to dive deep into his writing process with anybody else. Sometimes Reggie and him would share some lyrics together, or Bobby would have one written that wasn’t fully fleshed out, and Luke would tweak the lyrics for him. Usually Luke did it alone. 

But when Julie had suggested that they write some songs together, that she needed his help after what he had done with Flying Solo, his heart soared. 

One weekend Julie and him had sat down on his couch, and he had told her his process. How he’d just write down what he was feeling, the first thing that would come to his head, and then push them and push them to be better, until they came out all shiny. Metaphorically speaking of course. 

He told her that he’d never really written with anybody before and he remembered how she had got a little embarrassed. A little blush had crept across her face and he remembered wanting to take her hand or put his on her shoulder to ease her worry. That it was a good thing. That she was an amazing writer and that he was excited to be doing this with her. 

That day he even told her the Allison Park story. It haunted him.

She had teased him and told him that he wasn’t writing love songs for her, that they were writing them for their new band. 

Sitting in the hospital’s chapel was not the place that he thought inspiration would spike, but it had. And the song had turned out beautiful. He poured his heart into it and decided there was no time like now to be vulnerable. 

If he had lost Julie tonight, if her appendicitis had been something worse, he wouldn’t have been able to go on with his afterlife knowing he didn’t tell Julie how much he cared about her, and how thankful he was for her entire existence.

That she was his home now. 

He had meant every word when he told her that no music was worth making if it wasn’t with her. 

Reggie had been his comforting self when he had come in and chatted with Luke, lifting his spirits, and helping him write the song which he would give to her once she woke up. 

“This is one of your best Luke.” Reggie said smiling at his best friend, his hand squeezing his shoulder assuringly.

“You really think it’s a good idea to give it to her?” 

“Bro, if I hear one more thing about that girl you went to homecoming dance with freshman year I’m gonna freak out.”

“It was Sadie Hawkins…” Luke objected.

_ Saved me saved me saved me  _

_ My own perfect harmony _

—

Ray had gotten back to the hospital after the sun had risen, with Carlos and Victoria in tow, who had flown in last minute leaving her business trip. 

Julie and Alex had sat together for a little while longer. She had closed her eyes, her head resting against her pillow, and their two hands still clasped together, Alex tapping his thumb against her hand every so often. 

“Mija.” Ray exhaled when he walked into the room and saw her awake. She reached out her hand and her father grasped it in his as he pressed his forehead against hers. He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank God you’re okay.”

Victoria came around the other side of her bed and Alex stood up from his place on the chair next to her bed, fearing that Victoria might try to sit on it.

“Oh Julie.” She said as she kissed the top of her head, brushing away a few stray curls that had escaped from her ponytail. “We were so worried.” 

“It’s okay guys. I’m fine. I swear.” After her conversation with Alex, she knew that her family must have been just as worried about her as the guys had been. Her dad and her tia all had to sit around when her mother had grown sicker and sicker. Visiting her every day, sometimes coming home and back to the hospital multiple times in the same day. They had all been helpless to do anything against her sickness. Julie could only imagine how they must’ve felt seeing her lay in that bed, sharing such a likeness to her mother. 

She had never wanted any of them to feel like that. 

She looked into her dad’s eyes, him smiling down at his daughter, and said, “I promise Papi. I feel so much better.”

When she said that she heard a gasp from across the room. Her head turned and she looked at the doorway to see Luke standing there, his hands clasped together in front of him, with the biggest puppy dog eyes she’d ever seen him wear. 

“Julie.” He whispered. 

Reggie came up behind him, holding something in his hands, and she could only wonder if the nurses at the desks near where the door to her room was could see it floating in thin air. 

“Jules! You’re awake! Give your dad a big hug. He’s been really worried. I would have but...well you know.” Julie laughed at what Reggie had said and Ray cocked his head at her sudden giggles.

“What’s so funny?” He teased. Julie shook her head, she couldn’t muster up an explanation, she just extended her arms out so that her dad would wrap her up in a hug, which he did immediately. 

Carlos jumped into the hug, his head against their intertwined arms, and Victoria rested her head against Julie’s, her whole family connected now. 

The four broke apart, and Julie felt herself getting choked up. The love that she felt circulating in the room was astounding. She couldn’t ask for a better family, her phantoms included. 

She turned her head again to look at where Luke was still standing in the doorway, not moving a single ghost muscle. He had his head down and was fiddling with the edge of his t-shirt, not making eye contact with her. Alex and Reg were sitting in the chairs against the windows. 

“I’m feeling really tired, I think the pain meds are really working. You guys don’t mind if I take a nap do you?”

“Mija, of course you can. We'll just stick around and wait for the doctors to check up on you.” Ray reassured. 

Something clicked immediately in Carlos and he looked around the room, as if he thought he’d be able to see any of the guys, then back at Julie, an eyebrow raising. She nodded her head just slightly, knowing Carlos knew exactly what she needed.

“Can we go get some food? I’m starving!” He said dramatically, pulling at Victoria’s hand. 

“Carlos of course we can. Let’s give Julie some space to rest. Ray, would you like us to bring a snack up for you?”

“Oh, Dad, you don’t have to wait in here. I’m sure you haven’t eaten. Go ahead. Please.” Ray looked at her like ‘are you sure?’ and she nodded again.

“Okay baby, we’ll all be back up soon. Try and rest.” The three left her room.

“I think I’m feeling pretty hungry too, aren’t you Reg? Shouldn’t we follow them?” Alex said nudging Reggie.

“What? We can’t even eat!” Alex glared at Reggie. “Oh. Riiiight.” The two poofed out. 

Julie was thankful for a second alone, giving her a chance to talk to Luke. To thank him. When she had been throwing up last night, he had held her against him, comforted her. Everything would’ve felt a lot worse if it hadn’t been for him.

“Hey Luke.” She smiled. He finally made eye contact with her, walking tentatively up to where she was at her bed. She adjusted herself slightly so that she was sitting upright.

“Hey Jules.” 

“Thank you.” He placed himself on the edge of her bed, careful not to touch her, as if she’d disappear if he did.

He furrowed his eyebrows. “For what?”

“You made me feel better. Last night. When I was feeling really sick, you held me and I swear it's like I felt better. I wish you hadn’t let go.”

Luke chucked, and grabbed her hand in his finally, squeezing tightly, ever so thankful for the ability to touch her. “I was so worried Julie.” He let in a shaky breath. 

“I know. Alex told me. He said you were a wreck. I never pegged you as such a softie.” She teased, but she had almost cried when Alex had been telling her about how he had reacted. Luke being the emotional one out of the group was never a surprise to her though. 

“It...the night, it brought up a lot of things. Dying. That night…” He exhaled. “One day I’ll be brave enough to tell you about it. But...I was just trying to be there for Reggie and for Alex, and before I knew it, we found ourselves with you and I had no time to think about it.”

“Until last night.” Julie finished. 

“Until last night. Yeah.” Luke looked down, bringing their clasped hands close to his chest. “I wrote you a song.” He muttered. 

“You what?” Julie asked.

Luke laughed, thinking about how silly that was to bring up right after talking about his death. “When you were asleep, I needed some alone time to think, which didn’t end up being alone time because Reggie followed me. I played my guitar for a while and these lyrics came to me.” As much as he didn’t want to let go of Julie’s hand, he stood up for a second, walking over to the chair where Reggie had placed the stolen card that had a piece of printer paper stuffed in it, Luke’s sloppy handwriting coating the sheet. 

Bashfully, he handed it over to Julie. She opened it up pulling the folded up paper out of its place in the card.

“Don't, uh, read it yet. Wait til you get home...till you're alone.” He shook his head, his hair falling in front of his eyes. “That sounded weird.”

Julie pulled his hand back into hers, and placed their intertwined hands on her stomach. “I get what you meant. I’ve actually got a song waiting for you too. I wasn’t sure if I would ever share it, but you do always go through my dream box. It was probably inevitable that you’d find it.”

“Hey it was one time!” Luke protested. 

“It was five times.” Julie scoffed. “Either way…” 

Julie felt herself do something bold, and tugged at Luke’s arm, pulling him down so he would lay down next to her. He adjusted himself at the edge of her bed, trying not to press against her too much, afraid he could hurt her somehow. 

“Will you lay with me...like you did? Till I fall asleep?” She asked, her cheeks burning red and her eyes darting around not making eye contact.

“Of course. You know I’d do anything for you.” He kissed the top of her head and snuggled up close to her, feeling her breathing softly on him. If he could sleep, this would be the perfect way to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 6! And I think there will only be one left after this...oop.
> 
> I contemplated splitting this chapter up and waiting until 7 for them to reunite but I feel like y'all would've rioted...but I'm glad I put it all in this one. 
> 
> Also please don't judge me for the "lyrics" I'm not much of a songwriter so I hope they kind of seem like they would make sense as a song? 
> 
> Either way, I hope you guys liked this chapter. I wanna say I appreciate all the kind comments that I've been getting, and I didn't expect such a great response to this when I started writing it. So thank you. So much. I've loved writing this story and I'll be sad when it's done. But I'll definitely be writing more fics for this fandom bc I just adore these characters. 
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed. 
> 
> -T


	7. Welcome Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “But ever since meeting Julie Molina, Luke had been different. The two of them glowed when they were around each other. The songs they made together were electric, and their connection had basically saved all of their afterlives after the Orpheum.”

If Luke had been able to sleep, this would’ve been the perfect way to. His arms around Julie, her head resting against his shoulder, their fingers still connected, and her breath coming out in small snores. 

He had tried to be careful about laying next to her, not wanting to bump her, fearing that she may still be in pain, but sleep overtook her quickly and he was left closing his eyes, and just being there together beside her. 

In all the years of his life, and now as a ghost, he wasn’t one that shied away from sharing a bed with someone. Reggie, Alex, and him always piled into his bed whenever they had sleepovers, despite it just being a double. Bobby didn’t usually partake in the festivities, opting for a place on the floor.

_ “Reggie watch your freakin’ elbows!” Alex whined.  _

_ Luke rolled himself over to try and get some more space between all three of them.  _

_ “It’s not my fault your big stinkin chest is in my way.” Reggie retorted.  _

_ “Will you guys shut it!” Bobby sneered from below the bed. “This is why you shouldn’t all try and share.” _

Alex had the biggest bed out of all four of them when they were still alive, his parents had plenty of money and he and his sister both got queen beds. But the boys barely ever went over there for sleepovers, especially after the notorious church debacle of ‘92.

Reggie only had a twin sized mattress, and so when the boys went there, which again wasn’t often, given that his parents were always on the brink of divorce. But when they did, the guys had to sleep on the floor. 

But when they were at the Pattersons, they made it work, snuggling up next to each other, packed in like sardines. Luke loved the comfort of always being so close to his friends. 

Which hadn’t changed when they all essentially became homeless and slept in the studio. Luke had found the couch and him and Bobby had moved it into the studio together using his van. It had been a big moment for the guys to have a place to chill out and relax after practice or during weekends and not have to sit in the broken lawn chairs they snagged from Reggie’s parents garage. 

When they became ghosts, not much was different besides the fact they weren’t able to actually sleep anymore. It had been exciting at first, staying up all night and not getting tired. Being able to roam the streets of Hollywood with no worries. The excitement wore off and the boys had all agreed they had missed being able to sleep away the hours. 

Some nights they would pull out the bed inside the couch, and snuggle up with one another, all three of them with an unspoken agreement that they were touch starved, and just being able to lay with each other again was enough, even if they couldn’t fall asleep. 

It took Luke a while to realize he hadn’t been hearing the incessant beeping noises of the machines monitoring Julie anymore, too busy reminiscing once again about his life with his band. 

Alex and Reggie had come back in not too long after Julie had fallen asleep. He wouldn’t have known they had returned if they hadn’t stood in the doorway to the hospital room whispering to one another about Luke being in the bed with Julie. 

“Will you guys shut up?” Luke muttered. “She’s sleeping.” 

Reggie mouthed the word sorry then walked back over to the chair he was occupying all night and swung his legs over the arms of it. 

“So how'd it go?” Reggie asked. “Wait. Dumb question. You guys seem to be doing good.” Alex walked over to him and smacked him on the arm. He looked up at him with a look that read ‘hey what was that for?’ 

“It went good.” Luke smiled bashfully and looked down to see where their hands were still loosely intertwined. 

“What’d she say about the song?”

“Hold up. What song?” Alex interjected. 

“Oh, Luke wrote a song for Julie when we were downstairs. It’s super _duper_ sweet.” 

Alex raised an eyebrow at his band mate. “Is that so? So much for chemistry with everyone.” Reggie fistbumbed Alex in response to the jab at Luke. 

“Luke has got a cru-ush.” Reggie sing-songed. 

“Oh whatever you guys.” Luke’s voice was still barely above a whisper afraid that he was going to wake Julie. They weren’t wrong though, what was once just what he thought was great musical chemistry had shifted into something more. “She hasn’t read it yet. I want her to wait until she gets home...and stuff.” 

The guys nodded in understanding. 

Luke wasn’t one to open up about romantic feelings often. The band was always his first priority. Music was his love, and that was always enough for him. It had taken forever for Alex and him to stop dancing around their feelings for one another. Even then, when he and Alex had been a thing, it ultimately ended because Luke was too scared that if their dynamic changed for the worse, they would lose the band. 

But ever since meeting Julie Molina, Luke had been different. The two of them glowed when they were around each other. The songs they made together were electric, and their connection had basically saved all of their afterlives after the Orpheum. 

Julie stirred in her spot next to Luke and he shot up, giving her room to move. She opened her eyes slowly, smiling up at Luke while she squeezed his hand. Her head turned to look at the other ghosts in the room, and Reggie and Alex, almost in sync, waved at her. 

“Hey guys.” She said, her voice sounding a touch groggy.

“How ya feeling?” Luke asked her, now standing next to her bed, instead of sitting by her side. 

“I’m actually feeling okay. That nap definitely helped.” Julie adjusted herself so that she was sitting up a bit, and once she moved she patted the spot next to her legs so that Luke could sit back down. He obliged. 

“Thank you guys. All of you. For looking out for me. And for being here. I love you guys. So much.” Julie's touching words rang through the room, and all three boys felt their ghost hearts swell. The fact they were given a second chance, and the fact they could spend it with Julie was amazing. 

“But…” Julie started. “You guys should go home. You don’t have to sit in this room and wait for me. Especially since my dad and tía are going to be coming back up here.” Luke started to protest but Julie stopped him. “Please. You guys can even hang out in the house. Turn on the tv.” 

Luke wasn’t sure exactly why she was telling them to go home, and he worried they were invading her personal space. She never shied away from setting boundaries. 

“And whenever my dad gets home, you guys can come back. And bring a speaker that’s sitting in my room so we can listen to some music.” The guys agreed and just like that they poofed out of the hospital room. 

__

Julie was in the hospital for three more days after that. She never developed an infection from the rupture, but that could’ve been due to the meds they had given her right after the surgery. Her tía had been back and forth, watching over Carlos, bringing him to and from school, when her dad stayed with her. The two talked a lot. She shared stories about the guys, ones that were void of very specific details, and they talked about her mother. 

They shared their favorite stories about her and fond memories until they ran out. 

Her dad had stuck around for most of the time, even with her urging him to go home and get a proper night of rest. She knew he was scared to leave her, despite the doctors telling her that she was looking good, and she would be out in almost record time. One of the only times he had left was when Flynn had shown up and he gave them space to talk and hang out. Flynn, as manager of the year, had covered calling into the venue that Julie and the Phantoms had their gig at, right after she was admitted in. 

When she finally got to get back home, almost five days after she got sick, she was greeted with a group hug from the guys, them cheering her name and taking turns kissing the top of her head. 

The guys had spent the past couple days in a sort of limbo. When they first poofed back into the empty house, they all sort of stood around for a few minutes, unsure what to do. 

Back in the 1990’s, the house belonged to Bobby’s family. It had just been Bobby, his older brother, and their dad. His mom left them when Bobby had been young, and his dad ended up with the house. It had looked completely different when the boys had been in it. Way more carpet and pastel walls. The decor had also clearly belonged to boys. The way the Molina’s had decorated felt modern and definitely more homey.   


When the three became closer with Bobby and Sunset Curve was becoming more serious, they spent a lot of time in the garage, but really never went in the main house. 

Luke always wondered how the Molina’s managed to get this house from Bobby’s family. 

Alex had been the one to suggest they try to just watch TV to pass the time. They clicked through channel after channel on the big screen TV, talking about how they never had a television of that size growing up. They had even tried to figure out how to play Carlos’s gaming system, but got frustrated when they couldn’t figure it all out. 

Later, Luke shared the song with Alex, and they all went back into the studio to put music to it. Luke opted for his acoustic in place of his usual . Reggie sat at Julie's keyboard and played up a melody that he thought she would nail, and they created something beautiful together, that Luke was eager for Julie to finally hear. 

Those nights while Julie was still away, they all piled back into the pull out bed again, relishing in the closeness, and pretended as though they would’ve been able to sleep. 

“Hey guys.” Julie whispered into the circle their bodies had created together in the hug. Her phantoms and her back together again. 

“Hey Jules.” Luke said. The group separated after a few moments. 

“I didn’t say this the other day, but I’m sorry that we had to cancel the gig. I know we were all looking forward to it.” Last night they should’ve been playing a five song set at a possible career changing gig. Even though she was the one who had to spend almost a week in a hospital bed, she was the one looking out for how the guys were feeling. 

“Hey, just next time make sure you don’t have to lose any more organs before we have a performance.” Alex joked. They all laughed together. 

“Well on that note..the doctors told me I have to rest still, so how about I show you guys some of the movies you missed the past 25 years? We can all cram into my bed together?” Julie asked and the boys roared in agreement, Alex and Reggie betting each other who could make it to her room first, and running up the stairs. 

Luke looked down at Julie and grabbed her hand in his. She smiled up at him fondly. 

In one swift moment, Luke grabbed Julie and pushed her into a crushing hug. She reacted quickly, and wrapped her arms tightly around him, her hands clutching onto the back of the flannel he was wearing.

A sigh escaped him and all the tension that he was holding inside, slipped away in the embrace. All the worry he had been bottling in from her being in the hospital disappeared.

She pressed the side of her face into his chest and he felt her smile against him. Julie’s arms wrapped even tighter around him and Luke let his cheek fall to her head, the smell of her hair wafting into his nostrils, smelling faintly like her shampoo and also a bit like the pillows she had in the hospital. 

If he could freeze time, and stay like this with her forever, that would be enough.

“I’m glad you’re home.” Luke whispered into her hair. 

“Me too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter! I wanted a short and sweet ending since most of this fic was super angsty. I hope it was a good ending for you guys. 
> 
> I’ve really enjoyed writing this, and again, thank you all for the sweet comments and all the kudos. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> -T


End file.
